In an odd twist in the battle over Portland’s land-use laws, two cemetery owners have filed claims to develop their land—or force the city to pay them for a loss in property value due to land regulations under Measure 37. The biggest of the two claims, filed by River View Cemetery in SW Portland, seeks […]
Scott Moore
Posted inNews
Not in Front of My Condo!
Condo Residents Pooh-Pooh Adams’ Project
If he succeeds in his plan, City Commissioner Sam Adams may long be remembered for his complete overhaul of transportation along Burnside. But for a group of residents living in a condo building that would be affected by the change, he may be remembered as the guy who tore up their quiet, peaceful section of […]
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Hall Monitor
FREE FALLING
Like hovering alien pods, the aerial tram cars hung perfectly still from their tracks over the Lair Hill neighborhood in Southwest Portland last Friday, December 8. But instead of searching for fresh probing victims, the tram cars were there to make a point—that the tram is perfectly safe. To prove that point, City Commissioner Sam […]
Posted inNews
The Sizemore Saga
Now, Even More Complicated!
Last week, an Oregon Court of Appeals ruling sent the already complicated case regarding Bill Sizemore’s racketeering conviction spiraling into even murkier waters—despite “victory” being claimed by both sides. In 2002, Sizemore, a conservative activist, was found guilty of racketeering through two of his organizations, Oregon Taxpayers United (OTU) and the Oregon Taxpayers United Education […]
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The Conversion of Ben Westlund
Shifting with the Political Winds, or Following His Conscience?
State Senator Ben Westlund wasn’t a good Republican. He carried the torch for civil unions and anti-discrimination for gays and lesbians, advocated for a sales tax, and crafted the Oregon Cultural Trust, much to the chagrin of the mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging paleoconservatives who run the party. Republican leadership threatened to put him through a primary election—ostensibly […]
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Hall Monitor
Sticky Wicket
If you’ve never seen five members of city council tiptoe around the word “ejaculation,” you’ve never seen true—albeit intensely uncomfortable—hilarity. Bodily functions are not typically fodder for serious policy discussions, and yet that is precisely the predicament City Commissioner Dan Saltzman put the council in last Wednesday, November 29. As I wrote about two weeks […]
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Unfinished Agenda
City Council Crafts its Legislative Agenda
With Democrats taking over the federal and state legislatures, the time could be ripe for progressive cities like Portland to finally get what they want from larger governments. First, though, they need to figure out exactly what that is. On Tuesday, December 5, city council and the city’s government relations office sat down for what […]
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Hall Monitor
Phat Joints
As the week began, America hit a pretty ugly milestone—US armed forces have now been in Iraq for a longer amount of time than they were fighting the Axis in World War II. So, with the anniversary of Pearl Harbor looming, City Commissioner Randy Leonard has finally decided to put an end to the occupation. […]
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Pro-Choice, Meet Prophylactic
Pro-Choice Groups Set Sights on Prevention in 2007
In the 30 years since Roe v. Wade, groups on both sides of the abortion issue have simultaneously escalated and simplified their rhetoric to the point of screeching bumper-sticker slogans. Amid the “Out of My Womb!” and “Abortion Kills Babies!” chants, the shared goal of actually reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies—the leading cause of […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Searching for Bobby Kennedy
Emilio Estevez, You’re No Robert Altman
In the life, legacy, and death of Robert F. Kennedy, actor/director/son-of-Martin-Sheen Emilio Estevez has the ultimate American story right at his fingertips. From Kennedy’s birth into a family of untold affluence, to his political rise under his brother’s shadow, to his reemergence in the mid-’60s as the last great hope for civil rights and American […]
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David vs. Goliath
The Battle for Mt. Tabor Heats Up
Last week, the long-simmering fight over a possible sale of part of Mt. Tabor Park boiled over into the public arena. Two city commissioners declared the deal to be “off the table,” but Warner Pacific College, the tiny Christian school that wants the land, isn’t taking no for an answer. According to Warner Pacific, officials […]
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Hall Monitor
The Ejaculation Proclamation
Last week, City Commissioner Dan Saltzman and members of his staff headed off to Denver for the annual Greenbuild Conference—and turned it into a booze-soaked Portland lovefest. Instead of engaging in the usual roundtable discussions and keynote addresses that would make any sane person blow their brains out, Saltzman brought down some Portland businesses and […]